If you’re a mobile app entrepreneur and you’re looking to launch the greatest application of all time, time is of the essence, and you have no time to lose.

Putting your idea on paper is one thing but putting your ideas in motion via an app prototype can be hugely challenging if you’ve got no idea what you’re doing.

Whatever you aspire to create, you’ve got to start with a prototype so you’ll need to get cracking if you want to get your awesome idea out to the world before anyone else does.

Whether you’re looking to create the next Pandora, AirBnB, Tinder or Uber, we've outlined our top tips on how to build a mobile app prototype in 10 days.

Your 10-Day App Prototype Creation Roadmap

Creating an mobile app prototype can be a tad overwhelming and if you don’t create a detailed road map you could be floundering around getting nothing done fast.

Outlined below is a suggested 10-day plan for building a mobile app prototype. Stick to your guns, and you should be ready to create and launch your app in no time at all.

DAY 1 – PLANNING

Find an expert to guide you

Unless you’re a flag flying app developer with heaps of experience, if you want to get the prototype created in 10 days you will need to find a freelance app developer or graphic designer with an understanding of app UI/UX design and functionality to give you a hand.

Day one should be about setting up your network, finding an app developer or at least a freelance graphic designer with a background in app design who can help create an app prototype so you can get the process right from the outset.

Set your goals & objectives

Today, you should set your goals and objectives for your app. What are you looking to achieve in bringing your app to the market? Are you supporting an existing product/service or are you creating something entirely new?

Having goals and objectives will allow you to benchmark your app's performance both qualitatively and quantitatively to these objectives and ‘pivot’ should you not be achieving your desired results.

If you’re not confident creating these, you can call on the services of an experienced freelance business developer to help you put together a business plan with these goals and objectives outlined so you can nut out exactly what you want to achieve from the app development. You'll also want to think about your target market here.

DAY 2 – SET UP YOUR SYSTEMS

Now is the time to pull out your pen and paper and layout a userflow for the app.

Sit down and take the time to mock up a raw userflow to ensure your prototype is simple and easy to follow.

By creating a userflow that allows as little number of clicks or selections as possible, the mobile app prototype will prove successful as people don’t lose interest or get lost in the process.

Once you’ve created a super raw userflow you can pass it onto your freelance UI/UX designer so they can start to put together a visual representation of your app, and how it will work.

This is also the time that you'll want to get some branding materials together, like an unique icon. It should be a simplified, stand out logo that summarizes your business for the user.

DAY 3 – PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT DAY 1

Give your app designer or graphic designer three full days of development time so they can get your prototype together without rushing through it like a bat out of hell.

While your freelance app developer or graphic designer starts weaving their magic, you can start working on developing a list of people who can review the prototype when it is ready, so you can get valuable feedback and tweak the app as needed for the next phase.

DAY 4 – PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT DAY 2

Development day 2 is all about building on the foundation you established on day one.

For best results, your freelance app developer or graphic designer will be head down on your prototype so at this stage you might get some initial prototype concepts to review.

The trick here is to put yourself in your users shoes. Ask yourself if you were using this app, would this screen logically flow from this; would you know what to do from the very start (maybe you should consider adding some onbording screens).

DAY 5 – FINALIZE AND PREPARE TO TEST

This is where you put the cherry on the top of your development, at this point a graphic designer will add any imagery and color schemes you are looking to include and have everything ready for your minimum viable product testing (MVP).

You might like to engage some freelance app experts to review and test your plan, or you can employ a marketing expert with an understanding of apps to undertake a thorough review of your prototype’s functionality and send you some honest feedback.

DAY 6 – MVP TEST

The big day has arrived, where you will get critical feedback from experts, peers, friends, and family.

As daunting as it may be, ask them to walk through the prototype, as if they were using the app.

You want to know what works, what doesn’t, what’s missing and how you can take the user experience to the next level.

DAY 7 – REVIEW TEST RESULTS & TWEAK

Review the results from your testers – and remember, don’t get offended! Just because you love the idea, they may not – and may have some critical functionality which can be added, processes removed to make things flow better etc. No idea is a bad idea so be open to criticism and be clear you want honest opinions.

Based on the results and consulting your freelance app expert – who may go on and develop the app for you – take the feedback on board and redesign, redevelop and re-calibrate with your freelance design team until you are satisfied that you have taken on feedback and ‘pivoted’ to a version 2.0 of your original app

DAY 8 – MVP TEST 2

Retest, this time not only with the original group of people but add in a few more.

The more information and input you can secure, the better the ideas may flow – remembering many apps started up as an idea for one thing and ended up a success as something totally different – ever heard of a little app called Facebook!

DAY 9 – REVIEW TEST RESULTS AND FINALIZE

With the second round of testing complete, you should now have a broad cross-section of feedback which you can use to tweak your app and polish it to within an inch of its life.

Now it’s time to get all your ideas, consult with your Freelance app developer, finalize the details and bring your prototype to fruition.

DAY 10 - PROTOTYPE LIFT OFF!

Game Day, day 10, you have not only learned new skills but tested and retested your ideas and your prototype is ready for your freelance app developer and designer to bring to life.

As an aspiring app owner, if you understand what solution you are offering and what pain points as a user you don’t want to experience, there is a high likelihood that in under ten days you will have determined if your app prototype as legs and is ready to go into the development phase.

How to Find The Perfect App Developer For Your Prototype

When you’re in the market to find a great app developer for an app prototype you’re going to need to create a solid job ad that will attract the right applicants to your freelance project.

Here are a few things to consider adding into your job ad:

App information – provide as much information as you can about your app, without giving your idea away.

Outline what you need to be done – do you need a complete wireframe for the app created or do you need something more simple done like some graphic design mock ups and screenshots, outline exactly what you need to be done, your expectations and the finer details of the job clearly.

Add a time frame – be clear about when you want your app prototype complete, if you need it turned around quickly outline this or if you’re focused on quality and not speed be clear about it in this section.

Specific requirements – if you want the designs created in a specific program here is where you would outline the details. Graphic designers and app designers use a wide range of programs, and you will need to be specific about any mandatory elements.

Once you’ve placed your job ad, you can sit back and watch all the bids and proposals come in from amazing app developers and designers all over the world.

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Corinne and Tim run an Australian marketing agency and assist SME clients from all over the world with their marketing, BDM, copywriting, content, SEO, website creation and strategy development.
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